John Murphy
Background * Independent, The Corporate-Free Candidate * John Murphy (610) 384-4460 * http://www.johnmurphyforcongress.org * Candidate for US House of Representatives, 16th, in 2006, ''not only because the incumbent Republican Congressman is a clone of George W. Bush but because the Democratic Party offers no significant alternative to the neocons. '' Insights Although I was a member of the Green Party for six years, I am running as an Independent. My candidacy has been formally endorsed by the Pennsylvania Libertarian Party, the Pennsylvania Reform Party, The New American Independent Party, three county level Green Parties and the GDI (Greens for Democracy and Independence which represent about two thirds of all the Greens in the United States). I have also been endorsed by Peter Camejo the Green Party gubernatorial candidate in California and Ralph Nader's 2004 running mate. I am also pleased to announce that I have been endorsed by the prominent scholar, linguist and activist Noam Chomsky, the internationally renowned historian and peace activist, Howard Zinn and the popular television news commentator Phil Donahue. Details JOHN MURPHY CROSSES BALLOT ACCESS THRESHOLD - 6/29/2006 For Immediate Release June 29, 2006 MURPHY BLASTS PENNSYLVANIA DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN LEADERS CHESTER COUNTY, PA -- The John Murphy for Congress campaign announced today that it passed the ballot access threshold last night by over 200 signatures. John Murphy is required to submit nominating petitions containing 3,673 signatures just in order to appear on the ballot in November. The Democratic and Republican candidates have no signature requirements to appear on the November ballot. Mr. Murphy said today "while I'm very happy that we have now crossed that important threshold, we will nevertheless need to collect signatures for another five weeks. The Democratic and Republican parties in Pennsylvania have decided that they will no longer tolerate the existence of independent candidates or candidates from third parties. The ballot access laws they have enacted have now made it virtually impossible for anyone but Democrats and Republicans to run at the statewide level. Candidates for governor, lieutenant governor or Senate need 67,000 signatures just to get on the ballot. In order to survive the challenge to their signatures by the Democrats and Republicans however, they will need to collect closer to 100,000 signatures while the Democrats and Republicans have no signature requirements at all for the November ballot. Murphy went on to say that "even if I submit 3,000 more signatures than required by law, there is no guarantee that I will indeed appear on the ballot in November given the model the Democratic Party established in 2004 when they aborted the democratic process by preventing Ralph Nader from appearing on the ballot in Pennsylvania". During the 2004 presidential election, the Pennsylvania Democratic Party sued the Nader campaign in twelve separate courts simultaneously in their efforts to prevent Pennsylvania citizens from voting for the candidate of their choice. This indicates the magnitude of the effort to thwart the democratic process in Pennsylvania. Not just one lawsuit in one court but twelve suits in twelve separate courts simultaneously. The greater the level of the challenge; the more havoc that can be created. According to John Murphy, "this set a very dangerous precedent. It means that either of the two major parties can eliminate an independent candidate or a third party candidate by simply having enough money to engage innumerable law firms to take advantage of the minutia embedded in the archaic and anti-democratic ballot access laws of Pennsylvania. The major party does not have to win these battles but a third party candidate or an independent candidate would have their meager financial resources exhausted in simply responding to these suits, thereby making it impossible for them to communicate their message to the voters". Mr. Murphy continued, "We must nevertheless continue to collect signatures right up until the deadline of August 1. Then, if we have managed to survive the challenges from the two old parties, we will be on the ballot. Unfortunately, while the candidates from the two old parties have been spending those five months campaigning and raising funds we will have spent all of our efforts just trying to get on the ballot. We will have three months to campaign and raise funds as opposed to the eight months the Democrats and Republicans will have had". Murphy concluded, "We must put an end to these egregious ballot access laws which have killed democracy in Pennsylvania. I hope the citizens of Pennsylvania make a clean sweep on Election Day and not only clean out the Pennsylvania General Assembly but sweep Joe Pitts from the House of Representatives at the same time". Issues http://www.johnmurphyforcongress.org/issues.htm * Invasion of Iraq * Bogus War on Terrorism * Repeal the Patriot Act * Bogus War on Drugs * End Corporate Personhood * End Illegal Occupation Of Palestine * Equal Rights for All * Immigration * Fair Taxes * Fair Trade * Sustainable Jobs * Tuition Free Education * Universal Single-Payer Health Care Murphy Murphy, John